And that was just the famously combative and opinionated broadcaster getting warmed up. But it was a mellower-sounding Olbermann who sat onstage in a ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel to talk about going back to his roots as a sports journalist. His work as co-host of ESPN's "SportsCenter" in the 1990s made Olbermann famous, and reportedly inspired the Aaron Sorkin comedy, "Sports Night."

In recent years though, Olbermann has attracted attention for his flammable combination of political commentary and habit of leaving jobs. After winning a left-leaning following on MSNBC's "Countdown," Olbermann left the show and the network after a series of clashes.

His next stop was at Current, the liberal cable network founded by Al Gore, though that also went south after Olbermann and the Current powers-that-be butted heads.

However, at his TCA appearance today to talk about "Olbermann," which debuts Aug. 26, Olbermann was Mr. Congeniality. He made conciliatory comments about realizing that he played a role in his jumpy job history. Despite an earlier report that his deal with ESPN made political topics off-limits, Olbermann said that wasn't true, but questioned how often he'd want to get into politics, since the new show is about sports.

"It's been wonderful not talking politics," he said.

Dan Harmon and failing upward: Speaking of people with eventful job histories, Dan Harmon appeared in the afternoon to talk about "Rick and Morty," a new animated series for Adult Swim co-created by Harmon and Justin Roiland.

After some polite questions from the press about the new show, the topic of "Community" -- the NBC comedy Harmon created and supervised until he was removed from that duty for the recently-concluded Season 4 -- came up. Harmon is back in charge of the show for Season 5 and remarked on his ability to "fail upward."

Harmon decided to return to "Community," he said, because the worst that could happen was a bad season, compared to years of wondering. Asked about the differences between dealing with network executives at Adult Swim vs. NBC, Harmon said that with Adult Swim, he gets specific notes on a script: "I lost the story here." As opposed, he said, to hearing "I don't think that people are going to like this."

"On the NBC side, it's even better," he joked. "Next question."

"Rick and Morty," about a smart grandfather and less-smart grandson, premieres in the fall on Adult Swim.

Other tidbits:

* The day began with presentations from National Geographic and Nat Geo WILD channels. Even before the event officially began, the sounds of a squealing pig and a barking dog emerged from backstage. They weren't delivering early verdicts on the new fall TV season, but were part of the presentation for "Jobs That Bite!" a new Nat Geo WILD show, in which host Jeremy Brandt tries his hand at animal-related jobs around the country (camel milker, pig castrator, cow groomer, etc.)

We'll get a chance to see Brandt in action when "Jobs That Bite!" premieres in November.

* Also coming in November, marking the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, is National Geographic Channel's "Killing Kennedy." The TV movie is adapted from the book by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard, and tracks the courses that led JFK and Lee Harvey Oswald to Dallas in November 1963.

Lowe said he had been fascinated by the Kennedy assassination since boyhood and had real "all the conspiracy books." He's decided that Oswald acted alone, in case anyone is wondering what Rob Lowe thinks about that.

* African American stories: The Hallmark Channel presentation included a panel devoted to "The Watsons Go to Birmingham," a promising looking TV movie based on Christopher Paul Curtis' Newbury Award-winning book. Set in 1963, it's about a Michigan family that travels to Birmingham and gets a taste of the segregation policies and civil rights struggles that are part of the city's history. The cast includes Wood Harris ("The Wire"). The movie premieres Sept. 20.

Roland S. Martin also talked about the vision behind his new weekday morning show, "News One Now," coming to TV One in September. The CNN veteran said it's important to have a show geared toward African Americans, because their interests and specific challenges aren't generally reflected in other cable news shows.

In addition, he said that when you watch other cable news shows, you won't see African American generals talking military strategy. On TV One, he said, you will.

Coming up tomorrow: "Doctor Who" celebrating its 50th anniversary; and HBO, including Alec Baldwin talking about his film, "Seduced and Abandoned."